NAR Member Survey Shows Rise in REALTOR® Income and Sales Volume

NAR members understand the importance of a web presence and communicating with their clients through several channels. More than two-thirds have a personal website – operational for a median of eight years – and 91 percent report their firm has an online presence. Sixty-one percent of the respondents use social or professional networking sites – an increase of 5 percent from 2012 – and 12 percent have a blog.REALTORS® use a variety of communications methods when interacting with current clients or customers, with 94 percent preferring e-mail, followed by telephone at 90 percent and text messaging at 80 percent.

Compensation structures for REALTORS® and firm affiliation remained mostly the same from 2012. Sixty-eight percent of respondents are compensated through a split commission arrangement, 17 percent receive all of the commission and another 4 percent receive a commission plus a share of profits; 11 percent received some other form of compensation. Eighty-two percent of members work as independent contractors for their firms. The vast majority of REALTORS® receive no fringe benefits, although 33 percent are covered by errors and omissions insurance. Only 5 percent receive health insurance through their firm.

NAR members are well-educated (50 percent hold a bachelor’s degree or higher), own a home (86 percent), invest in at least one residential investment property (39 percent), and bring a wide range of expertise, skills and experience to the profession. Only 6 percent began their career in real estate, with the majority having previous full-time careers in management, business or financial (19 percent) or sales and retail (15 percent). Forty-one percent of those fluent in other languages speak Spanish and 96 percent are registered to vote.

Respondents worked for a firm typically with one office and had been with that firm for six years. Fifty-seven percent of members are affiliated with an independent firm, and 38 percent are with a franchised company; 5 percent are other. Nine percent of REALTORS® report their firm was bought by or merged with another firm during the past two years, down for the second consecutive year and from 11 percent in the 2012 study.

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